A leading international rights watchdog on Tuesday urged Sudan to rein in its forces in Darfur, saying renewed attacks in the restive region showed that the war was not over.
Sudanese army attacks killed 16 civilians and destroyed several villages over two days last month, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report.
”Recent clashes between the governing party-led Sudan armed forces and rebels in September and the use of indiscriminate bombings demonstrate that the war is not over,” the report said.
It quoted witnesses in North Darfur as saying that army attacks in May destroyed a town’s water pumps and had killed or wounded dozens of civilians.
The United Nations says up to 300Â 000 people have died and 2,7-million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur first rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003.
The government says 10Â 000 people have been killed.
Khartoum and Darfur’s most active rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), are due to resume peace talks in Qatar this month.
Before negotiations broke off earlier this year, JEM signed a February deal on confidence-building measures that was hailed by the international community. It marked the rebel group’s first contacts with the government since 2007. — AFP
